Illinois notebook: MSU's Tom Izzo backs Bruce Weber

Michigan State Tom Izzo will start with a disclaimer. Bruce Weber is one of his best friends.

John Supinie

CHAMPAIGN -- Michigan State Tom Izzo will start with a disclaimer. Bruce Weber is one of his best friends.

They came up the ranks together as Big Ten assistants while working for old-school coaches.

Michigan State's Jud Heathcote and Purdue's Gene Keady were pretty demanding. So when you ask Izzo about the heat Weber is catching from the Illini crowd, he doesn't hold back his praise.

"If you want to talk about a guy who does it the right way, coaches his tail off, works his tail off,'' Izzo said. "I'm prejudiced because he's my friend, but Illinois better be happy to have him. He's won a lot of games there and taken them to a Final Four.''

When No. 9 Michigan State plays at Illinois on Tuesday, the Illini carry a three-game losing streak that sent the Illini tumbling down the Big Ten standings after leading the league heading into the game against Penn State on Jan. 19.

The criticism reached Weber, who said after the 77-72 overtime loss to Minnesota the "critiquing'' of Illinois' wins and losses was bothersome. That came after he told a Champaign radio station last week the heat is part of the job.

"I don't know if (the criticism's) unfair," Weber said on WJEK. "That's part of my job is to win. I think we've done a good job. We have a new team, a young team. There's always pressure, and you want to keep your job. I'd like to stay here. I think we have done some good things.''

This is a big week for the Illini. With wins against Michigan State and Northwestern on Sunday, Illinois would boost its NCAA Tournament resume and create momentum heading into a stretch of four road games in the next five. Yet the talk isn't about Illinois' bracketology (No. 10 seed this week, according to ESPN) or the Big Ten race. It's always about Weber's future.

A final assessment of the season is months away, especially with the Big Ten so competitive from the middle of the pack on up. Athletic director Mike Thomas will consider the body of work, including previous seasons and the direction of the program.

The mood of the fan base would play a role, because ticket sales are important.

Thomas has other things to consider. He's already paying a $2.6-million buyout to former football coach Ron Zook, and he boosted the pool of money to pay the football assistants by $600,000. Weber's contract runs through the 2014-15 season. Then there's the future of women's basketball coach Jolette Law.

Meanwhile, Izzo had Weber's back.

"Some of the heat comes from where you get certain recruits or not,'' Izzo said. "I've had that happen here. It's hard to get players out of certain areas for a lot of different reasons.

"As as far coaching, he's as good of a coach as there is in the country.''

Izzo called Illini center Meyers Leonard "one of the more improved players in this whole league.''

The relationship goes back to the days when Weber or Izzo would make a call, and the other would listen about how hard it was to work for the boss.

"I don't think it was so competitive at that time,'' Weber said. "It wasn't life and death. You could enjoy each other, talk to each other, not fear everyday you were going to lose your job. It was different.''

BASKETBALL: Illinois might be feeling blue after the loss at Minnesota, but Operation Blue-Out is a fundraiser for Coaches vs. Cancer. Fans are asked to buy blue T-shirts at GameDay sports or the Hall with a portion of the proceeds going to the charity. T-shirts are $9.99.

The Illini will wear their blue road uniforms, and Michigan State will play in its home whites. Weber asked Izzo if the plan was still OK after the Spartans lost in their whites at Northwestern earlier this year.

"He said, 'We've lost in green. We've lost in white. It doesn't matter,'' Weber said.

NOTABLE: Despite free tickets Sunday, the Illini women drew a crowd of 2,200 for a 67-47 loss to No. 19 Nebraska. Two fans in the Hall were former Illini guard Chelsea Gordon and her boyfriend, former Illini receiver Arrelious Benn.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnSupinie.

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